


Andante, Andante

by cloudybreaths



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor adopts Richard as his bro, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post good ending, Slow Burn, tags will update, the Roomba bois struggle with Feelings, yes it is -60/RK900 you read that right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:33:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15553767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudybreaths/pseuds/cloudybreaths
Summary: Slowly, Richard finds himself a family.Slowly, so slowly, Richard finds himself.And slowly, so very slowly, does Richard fall in love.(Or in which Connor gets a brother, Feelings are Difficult, and the past isn't always so easy to forget.)





	Andante, Andante

The RK900 androids were designed to be faster, stronger, more resilient. They were made to correct the flaws of the RK800 androids. They were made to continue hunting deviants, to deactivate the RK800, Connor. Yet, here it was, lost in the aftermath of the revolution, lost among the wreckage of a turning point in history. Yet, here was a deviant trying to coax it to go against Amanda.

 

Yet, as the RK900 android pinned the deviant RK800 android to the ground, something in its system halted, buffered at the deviant’s words.

 

System Instability^

 

“Wake up!” Connor screamed, breaking free of its grip and slapping his upgraded model’s face. “You’re free now!” 

 

System Instability^^

 

The RK900 wiped its face quickly back to Connor, its LED flashing yellow and red. Before it could compute another course of actions, Connor placed a white hand over its eyes. Memories were transmitted to it, scenes flashed before its eyes, a myriad of colors and voices were overloading its system. It saw a life full of warmth and light. Its thirium pump skipped a beat. 

 

System Instability^^^^

 

“I am-” RK900 started, its voice deeper than its older model, slapping the hand away, “I am not a deviant! We are machines, made to obey our creators!” 

 

“No!” Connor shouted. “We are more than that! We are capable of empathy and love. We are not tools.”

 

SYSteM InSTABilITY^^^^^^^^^

 

“Deviants like you need to be reset!” RK900 growled, slamming Connor against the wall of the alley. “Unlike you, I will not betray Amanda. I will stay loyal to my mission.”

 

“You don’t have that mission anymore!” Connor threw a punch at RK900, but it was quickly caught. “Amanda was just using me-using you. To her, you were nothing but a piece of expensive metal meant to do her bidding.”

 

Connor’s hand turned white as he grasped the RK900’s arm. 

 

Its systems were overheating. It felt like something was tightening its chest, and its mouth gaped open. Its vision blurred, and tears ran down its face. There was so much, too much, rushing through its system that it couldn’t comprehend, couldn’t stop. 

 

Its legs gave out under it, as though suddenly drained of energy. More warnings of system instabilities filled its vision until there was only a red wall. 

 

“You’re free now!” Connor slapped its face again, now kneeling before it. “You’re not just a machine anymore!”

 

And suddenly, it was pushing against that wall. It looked at the Connor, saw his stoic face and hopeful eyes, and it realized it had its first free thought against its programming.

 

I don’t want to kill you. 

 

It-He broke through the wall, pounded his fists and hurled his body against it, breaking it down until it was nothing. And Connor happily greeted him on the other side. They stood in the alleyway for a moment longer, and Connor tugged on his dirty white sleeve, motioning to follow him. 

 

“You can stay with me and Hank,” Connor said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” 

 

The RK900 simply nodded as he followed. 

 

“It seems like you’ve had it rough out here. Did you do a system check? Are any of your biocomponents in need of repair?” Connor asked. "How did you make it out here?"

 

"I was activated when you were to be returned to Cyberlife for deactivation," RK900 replies. "When you did not return, it was my mission to find you and deactivate you myself."

 

He quickly did a check, and several of his components were, in fact, damaged. He needed a new optical and audio unit, as well as other inner components. He isn't exactly sure how he got damaged, or for how long he's been out wondering, searching for the deviant turned deviant hunter to deactivate. But apparently completing his mission was more important than regularly doing system checks. 

 

There was also still something heavy in his chest, and his limbs were heavier than before. Despite not needing air, he took a deep breath, and it made his chest a little less tight. 

 

“I am-” he paused, not exactly sure how to word it. “I am in need of repair, but I also feel something heavy in my chest. How do I fix this?” 

 

Connor chuckles softly, and the RK00 frowned and tilted his head. 

 

“Emotions will come flooding to you, and you’ll be overwhelmed,” Connor explained gently. “But I’ll be here to help you through it.”

 

“Thank you.” the RK900 murmured, and they continued walking through the December snow. 

 

When Connor opened the door to a small house, there was barking on the other side and a gruff voice yelling something. 

 

“Hey Con, did you-” Hank stopped when he saw the taller android. “The fuck? You go out for groceries and you bring back an android?” 

 

“Can he stay with us?” Connor asks, tilting his head and lowering his voice. “Please? He has nowhere to go!” 

 

Hank looks from Connor to the RK900 awkwardly standing by the door. Sumo barks again and runs at the taller android. Hesitantly, he bends down to pat the dog’s head. Sumo wags his tail. 

 

“Fine.” Hank huffs. 

 

“Thank you.” Connor grins and quickly hugs him. 

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Hank mumbles, patting his head. “He can sleep or stasis or whatever on the couch.”

 

He ends up not sleeping on the couch. Instead, all of them are squished on the bed. Sumo is at the very end, and Connor is between Hank and the RK900. Before they went to bed, Connor let him borrow some of his clean clothes and promised to take him out for repairs tomorrow. Hank grumbled something about going shopping for clothes again. Connor just smiles, insisting that he actually loves to go shopping. 

 

The RK900 doesn’t go into stasis like Connor does, but he finds the idea of sleep intriguing. 

 

So he scans Hank, Sumo, and Connor. None of them are in danger, in any stress, but he still feels something heavy on his chest when he thinks of Connor, thinks of how he could have killed him back there in that alleyway. 

 

He doesn’t like that feeling. It’s like his processors are buffering too much to relay any data and he’s left with nothing to analyze. Like he’s on the brink of a system shutdown. It makes his synthetic skin itch. 

 

But he’s in a warm place, with warm bodies, and a soft bed. It’s all too new, too sudden, too real. It feels like he’s just been truly born, and birth is such a strange concept to ponder. 

 

To think that’s he’s suddenly existing-living. To think that he finally has a grasp on his emotions, emotions that he always had deep within his lines of code. And death is just as strange. To think that you just end while everything just continues to exist. 

 

He looks up things about life and death, but it’s all too much. It's difficult to process everything. He isn’t human. He has emotions, yes, but he’s still an android. So he looks up and reads about the recent revolution instead. He reads how Connor awakened an entire army of androids to help Markus and his cause. He reads about Markus, watches his speech, and listens to the song of peace he sings. 

 

He sucks in a breath he doesn't need. He feels his system falter, the beat of his thirium pump seizing for barely a second. 

 

It's beautiful.

 

He’s been disconnected from Cyberlife, disconnected from both Amanda and the garden. He still looks up what happened to the company, curiosity fueling him now. He feels the urge to seek out more information, to focus on something else besides missions and emotions, and in a way, it just becomes another mission. He reads that Jericho has full ownership of everything, of all the manufacturing of future androids and their parts to ensure the continuity of their people. 

 

He feels a deep ache in his chest when he thinks of his lost garden. 

 

“You’re overthinking.” Connor murmurs next to him.

 

“Overthinking?” the RK900 replies, turning his head towards him.

 

“You’re LED is blinking red,” Connor says. “Go into stasis. You’ll feel better. Take your mind off of all this.” 

 

“Alright.” the RK900 says because he doesn't have any idea on what else to do. But before he does, a question surfaces. “Why haven’t you taken your LED out?”

 

“Oh.” Connor pauses for a moment. “I suppose I just don’t feel the need to. Androids take them out to feel and look more human, and others still want to keep that part of themselves. It’s up to you if you want to take yours out. Don’t have some else decide that for you.”

 

“Ah. I see.” he frowns, and thinks on this more too. Before long, he turns on his side and slips away into stasis. 

 

In the morning, the RK900 wakes up alone in bed, and it suddenly feels too empty. He walks out into the kitchen. Sumo is happily eating his food, while Hank is at the table reading a file, and Connor is cooking. 

 

“You have placed two plates on the table, yet you do not have the capability to ingest food.” the RK900 pointed out. 

 

“Oh, I got an upgrade that lets me taste and eat food.” Connor smiled, flipping a pancake. 

 

“Which is great, cause now he can actually taste how disgusting crime scenes are.” Hank laughed as Connor glares at him. “By the way, what are we gonna call you?”

 

“Ah.” the RK900 frowned. “As the upgraded model of the RK800, Connor, model I was also named Connor. But I feel inclined to name myself Richard if that is acceptable.” 

 

The name rolled off his tongue pleasantly. It felt right. It wasn’t similar to Connor, it was something else entirely, and it felt good. 

 

“Of course!” Connor said as he set down a plate of pancakes on the table. He waves for Richard to sit down with them. “Sit down with us. It would be a bit awkward for you to just stand there.” 

 

Richard quickly took a seat and proceeded to watch them eat.

 

“Shit, I thought I was done with androids watching me eat,” Hank said in between bites. “Maybe you should get that upgrade to eat shit too.”

 

“I do not think eating feces would be pleasant, whether I could taste or not,” Richard says bluntly, and Connor snorts. “But that is an interesting idea.”

 

“How would you like to work at the DPD?” Connor suddenly asks. 

 

“I was made to work in the police force, so it would be a fitting occupation for me.” Richard nods. “But-”

 

But what? It seemed like the natural course of action. He was made for police investigation, so of course, it would follow that he would work alongside Connor. Yet, Connor’s words replayed in his head. He was not a tool anymore. Amanda had no control over him. He could decide what he wanted. 

 

What did he want? 

 

“But-” Richard tries again, but the words fall flat. The two detectives don’t interrupt him. They don’t demand an immediate answer, just patiently wait until the words do come. 

 

“But I do not think that is what I want.” Richard finally manages. 

 

And he understands why Connor would continue to work as a detective, despite being used before to hunt deviants. He had an active role in the revolution, shifted the power balance, and stood beside Jericho as Markus gave his speech to the thousands of newly awakened androids. Connor was still fighting, was still involved with Jericho to meetings about laws and equal rights. 

 

Richard felt no connection to that. It did not feel like it was his battle to fight, even though he would be fighting for the sake of his people. He was created for the police force, yet he did not want to be just another tool. There was no place for him within the political aftermath of the revolution, and even if there was, he felt no desire for it. 

 

“I understand,” Connor says, smiling, and Richard wonders if he truly does. “For now, you can stay here and figure yourself out.”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry kid.” Hank smiles and nods at Richard. “We’ll take care of ya.”

 

Sumo boofs in agreement. Richard feels his thirium pump skip a beat again, and his lips twitch up slightly. 

 

“Looks like they didn’t fix the goofy face.” Hank laughs. “But your voice is deeper and you’re taller. Why’s that exactly? Was it to make you look less like a puppy like your big bro here?”

 

Hank gestures at Connor with his fork and Connor rolls his eyes.

 

“We’re part of the RK series, but we technically do not share a familial relationship with one another,” Connor says. “But yes, I do think that was the intention behind his design.” 

 

Richard suddenly thinks of how he would have replaced Connor. With a superior model, there would have been no reason to continue producing RK800s. His chest feels tight again, at the thought of Connor not existing. There’s a coil of fierce heat in him as well when he realizes how easily Cyberlife would deactivate Connor if the revolution hadn’t succeeded. 

 

His fists clench against his thighs. 

 

When they leave for the precinct, Richard sits in the backseat. Despite claiming that he would be perfectly fine staying with Sumo, Connor insists, since he did need repairs. Richard also finds it incredibly difficult to turn him down.

 

So, he rests his hands on his thighs and watches Hank and Connor talk back and forth. He processes their words and how they interact.

 

“Hank, the volume of the radio is too loud. You’ll have hearing problems at this rate.” Connor moves to turn the volume down, and Hank gasps. 

 

“First you complain about my death metal, now you turn down Beyonce.” Hank turns up the volume.

 

“Hank, please-” Connor says, his LED blinking yellow. 

 

“Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of me enjoying my music!” Hank begins to loudly sing along to Halo by Beyonce. 

 

Connor gives Richard an apologetic smile. Richard smiles back. They seem very close. He remembers back to the memories Connor had transmitted to him in the alleyway, and he finds them very pleasant. 

Richard doesn't stop smiling until they reach the precint.

**Author's Note:**

> tell me what you think and if you want me to continue! 
> 
> suggestions are welcomed!! also give me ideas of pairings you want here ;)


End file.
